Staging

Hi Travis,

If you get a copy of your pathology report from the SNB and post the information on here many can help you?

Judy (loving wife of Gene Stage IV and now NED for over 4 years)

Hi Travis,

If you get a copy of your pathology report from the SNB and post the information on here many can help you?

Judy (loving wife of Gene Stage IV and now NED for over 4 years)

Hi Travis,

If you get a copy of your pathology report from the SNB and post the information on here many can help you?

Judy (loving wife of Gene Stage IV and now NED for over 4 years)

This shows the different stages:

https://www.melanoma.org/understand-melanoma/diagnosing-melanoma/stages-of-diagnosis

The PET/CT scan will determine whether you remain a stage 3 or have advanced to stage 4.

This shows the different stages:

https://www.melanoma.org/understand-melanoma/diagnosing-melanoma/stages-of-diagnosis

The PET/CT scan will determine whether you remain a stage 3 or have advanced to stage 4.

This shows the different stages:

https://www.melanoma.org/understand-melanoma/diagnosing-melanoma/stages-of-diagnosis

The PET/CT scan will determine whether you remain a stage 3 or have advanced to stage 4.

The answer to your question is really that stage is determined by the amount of disease which is evident.. so the scan is to confirm the staging evident from your sentinel node biopsy.

If anything new shows up.. then the staging is revised on the basis of the new evidence.

The tests are important to determine appropriate treatment for your actual stage. I was initially a t1a..but roughly 2 years later was reclassified stage 3 as had two positive lymph nodes in groin and pelvis one of which was found as a lump.. So there must have been micro mestasasis at the initial diagnosis…but because this was so unlikely and the harm from unnecessary SNB outweighed the likely benefit I was not offered this test.

This is why the docs use NED status ie no evidence of disease.. It is about as good as it gets in melanoma world..but does not exclude the possibility that something troublesome and microscopic might be lurking somewhere.

Sorry, not a cheerful reply but I want my doctors to talk straight to me and want to be involved in the decision making. I was told that I am at high risk for progression… And was offered a trial of pembro/ keytruda to see if that prolonged the progression free time etc.

Melanoma is a strange Beastie and sometimes the tumours mutate to slightly different types which seems to explain why some patients have a brilliant response to one treatment with the majority of tumours but have one or two pesky ones that don't. It probably also partly explains the greater success of combo treatments..if one drug doesn't  zap that mutation then the other drug has the chance to complete the task…

Hope your stage does not change after your scan.

Best of luck with your treatment

Deb

The answer to your question is really that stage is determined by the amount of disease which is evident.. so the scan is to confirm the staging evident from your sentinel node biopsy.

If anything new shows up.. then the staging is revised on the basis of the new evidence.

The tests are important to determine appropriate treatment for your actual stage. I was initially a t1a..but roughly 2 years later was reclassified stage 3 as had two positive lymph nodes in groin and pelvis one of which was found as a lump.. So there must have been micro mestasasis at the initial diagnosis…but because this was so unlikely and the harm from unnecessary SNB outweighed the likely benefit I was not offered this test.

This is why the docs use NED status ie no evidence of disease.. It is about as good as it gets in melanoma world..but does not exclude the possibility that something troublesome and microscopic might be lurking somewhere.

Sorry, not a cheerful reply but I want my doctors to talk straight to me and want to be involved in the decision making. I was told that I am at high risk for progression… And was offered a trial of pembro/ keytruda to see if that prolonged the progression free time etc.

Melanoma is a strange Beastie and sometimes the tumours mutate to slightly different types which seems to explain why some patients have a brilliant response to one treatment with the majority of tumours but have one or two pesky ones that don't. It probably also partly explains the greater success of combo treatments..if one drug doesn't  zap that mutation then the other drug has the chance to complete the task…

Hope your stage does not change after your scan.

Best of luck with your treatment

Deb

The answer to your question is really that stage is determined by the amount of disease which is evident.. so the scan is to confirm the staging evident from your sentinel node biopsy.

If anything new shows up.. then the staging is revised on the basis of the new evidence.

The tests are important to determine appropriate treatment for your actual stage. I was initially a t1a..but roughly 2 years later was reclassified stage 3 as had two positive lymph nodes in groin and pelvis one of which was found as a lump.. So there must have been micro mestasasis at the initial diagnosis…but because this was so unlikely and the harm from unnecessary SNB outweighed the likely benefit I was not offered this test.

This is why the docs use NED status ie no evidence of disease.. It is about as good as it gets in melanoma world..but does not exclude the possibility that something troublesome and microscopic might be lurking somewhere.

Sorry, not a cheerful reply but I want my doctors to talk straight to me and want to be involved in the decision making. I was told that I am at high risk for progression… And was offered a trial of pembro/ keytruda to see if that prolonged the progression free time etc.

Melanoma is a strange Beastie and sometimes the tumours mutate to slightly different types which seems to explain why some patients have a brilliant response to one treatment with the majority of tumours but have one or two pesky ones that don't. It probably also partly explains the greater success of combo treatments..if one drug doesn't  zap that mutation then the other drug has the chance to complete the task…

Hope your stage does not change after your scan.

Best of luck with your treatment

Deb